Tentarafoo
by Angevon
Summary: Yosuke is still trying to figure it all out. [SoujiXYosuke]
1. Chapter 1

[AN: Follows directly after my other story, "All Over," but it's not required reading. It's also part of a series - please see my profile for the others!

Spoilers for January (Golden).

Thanks to Soma for ... everything.]

* * *

_BURRRRN MY DREAAAAAAD_

Yosuke scrambled to turn off his mp3 player—God, why was it so loud? What the hell, where were his headphones, they weren't around his neck, why what

_BURRRRN MY DREAAAAAAD_

What the hell, he didn't even know this song, how did it get on his mp3 player...

...but even in his sleep-ridden state, he had to admit it was a pretty sweet tune.

There was a loud thunk from the other side of the room and then blessed silence. Yosuke groaned and mashed his face back into the pillow.

He heard a quiet sigh and the rustle of blankets and then a tall shape was standing over him. He blinked rapidly to clear the sleep from his eyes.

Souji...?

That's right! He was staying over at Souji's for the night. Nanako-chan still had his headphones, and that music must've been his partner's alarm, and...

...Good God, Souji woke up early. The sun was barely creeping its way into the room through the window, and the sky outside was a hazy dawn orange-blue. "Ugh, what time is it?" Yosuke mumbled, though he didn't really want to know.

"You can probably sleep for another 30," Souji said, stifling a yawn himself. "I've things to do."

Souji left the room. Yosuke rolled over in the spare futon he had borrowed for the night.

What time had they gone to sleep last night? He hadn't been paying attention. It was almost criminal, how early Souji had set the alarm. How did the guy manage? He was like a freaking robot. Yosuke had seen his day planner once and it was more complicated than their trigonometry homework.

Souji was overworked, and Yosuke knew it. He should've done something about it a long time ago. It wasn't healthy. How many part-time jobs did he have, again? Working at Junes alone was enough for Yosuke... No wonder Souji had gotten sick right after New Years. It was probably exhaustion kicking in.

Well, at least the murder case was over and done with, so they could all relax.

Speaking of Souji, the guy was back in the room now, opening some dresser drawers. Hey, when did he get dressed into his school uniform? Yosuke hadn't seen him change... And what was that sheen in his hair? His hair was wet—he'd taken a shower!?

...And Yosuke wasn't even out of the futon yet.

Yosuke grimaced and pulled himself into a sitting position on the futon. "Damn, man," he muttered. Well, he'd never been a morning person.

"Here, you can wear these." Souji tossed him a bundle of clothes that he caught and held in his lap—a spare school uniform, including a jacket. "I left a bag by the door for your old clothes. Or you can leave them here and I'll get them washed for next time."

"Next time...?" Yosuke rubbed his eyes, but that only made his vision blurrier, and his mind still felt sleepy. "You want me to stay over again?"

Souji shrugged. "There's still a month and a half left... There might be a chance for it."

A month and a half left before what? … Oh. Oh, right...

"...Yeah," Yosuke said quietly. "Maybe the next time it snows... I'll just happen to be studying with you here, heh."

"Or maybe we'll study at the Hanamura house," Souji suggested. "And I can stay over there..."

"Oh god no." Yosuke waved his hand rapidly in emphasis. "Did you forget Teddie is staying with me? Yeah, no."

"It could be fun," Souji said. "Teddie's a good guy."

"Dude, you are way too nice. Did you forget he almost roasted you alive with the kotatsu when you were sick?"

"It gave me a nice tan."

Yosuke stared at him, speechless.

"He was just trying to help." Souji rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "Anyway, if you want to borrow a pair of underwear and socks, they're in the top drawer. I'll see you downstairs."

"Dude I am not going to wear your underwear..." Yosuke began, but he was complaining to air: Souji had already left the room.

Yosuke stretched his arms wide and yawned hugely before getting up and heading to the bathroom, where he realized that yeah, he could use some fresh underwear. He scowled at the thought of wearing Souji's underwear—come on, that was just... no... He wouldn't go there...

If the situation was reversed and Souji had asked to borrow _his_ underwear, he'd flat-out refuse. It was just... egh... Not when they were in a relationship. It felt so wrong. Dirty. As dirty as Souji had called their secret relationship, maybe? What was wrong with that guy, really...

But Souji _had_ offered, after all, and it'd be pretty uncomfortable to spend another day in these...

Damn, he had to work after school, too, so he wouldn't have time to go home and change.

Fine. He opened the top drawer and found a pair of boxer shorts, dark gray with a black-and-gray vertical striped pattern. He held it out at arm's length, feeling like such a creeper while he tentatively sniffed it. Yep, Junes-brand detergent. If he remembered right, Nanako-chan did the laundry, so that explained that.

Yosuke changed quickly, not that he expected Souji to return suddenly—he'd said he'd wait downstairs—but out of habit. He often threw on his clothes without any care in the morning because he'd overslept. Souji's clothes fit him well; they were about the same size and build, anyway. He started buttoning up the jacket and then stopped, wondering if he should copy Souji's style and leave it unbuttoned since he was wearing his clothes and all. Nah. Although Souji might find it amusing, he'd rather not to attract unwanted attention. Chie would totally tease him about it.

He stretched again in the new clothes and realized he was alone and with free reign in Souji's room, something that wasn't likely to happen again anytime soon. But... really, it was too early in the morning to go snooping, and he didn't know how long his partner would wait for him. The mystery of Souji's goods would have to remain unsolved for now.

Might as well get going. He went downstairs and found Souji warming something on the kitchen stove. "Good morning," Souji said. "Have a seat."

"Dude... You're making breakfast for me too?" Yosuke rubbed his face like he couldn't believe it. He sat down at the table so he could watch Souji cook, just like he had done the night before.

"Hanamura?" said a gruff voice behind him. "Oh, right... You stayed over."

"D-Dojima-san!" Yosuke yelped. He knocked over his chair in his surprise.

"This is my house," the detective reminded him, ignoring his clumsiness. Dojima was already dressed for work, wearing a gray dress shirt, black pants, and the signature red tie. He draped his black jacket over one of the other dining room chairs. "You shouldn't be surprised to see me."

"Err..." said Yosuke. "Thanks for letting me stay."

Dojima grunted. "It was damn cold last night." He then entered the kitchen, stepped around Souji, and pulled forward some mugs from the back of the counter. "Coffee?"

Yosuke declined. He knew from experience that caffeine was not good for him, especially on a school day.

"Yes, please, uncle," said Souji.

Dojima started the coffee maker and then sat at the table with Yosuke, who'd recovered enough to right his chair. "I usually don't see Souji in the morning," Dojima said conversationally. "He's up earlier than normal today. I suppose that's your fault. Well, I'm not gonna complain about a good old-fashioned breakfast. Been too long since I had one." He leaned back comfortably in the chair.

Souji looked stricken from across the counter. "I can cook breakfast for you more often, uncle."

"You do enough around here already," Dojima said. "I've survived on toast this long. I'll manage."

Souji didn't seem appeased, but then Nanako-chan came out from her room. "Good morning! Dad... and Yosuke-nii... and Big Bro!" She smiled at them grandly.

If Dojima noticed the familial honorific tacked onto Yosuke's name, he didn't comment. Instead, he stood up and returned to the kitchen to check the coffee's progress.

Yosuke asked Nanako-chan for his headphones, and she happily brought them out from her room. He slipped them over his neck, and the relief was immediate. He didn't plan on listening to anything now, not with Nanako-chan and Dojima-san present, but knowing that he could made him feel that much more relaxed.

Come to think of it, he hadn't listened to anything since... Wow, probably before school yesterday. He couldn't remember a time when he'd gone that long without needing the peace his music offered.

"Breakfast's ready!" Souji announced. He balanced several bowls on his arm and brought them to the table. He'd cooked hot miso soup and rice.

Yosuke stirred his bowl with chopsticks and peered into it. "Why's mine look different?" The soup seemed to have a different color to it than everyone else's...

"I left the bonito out of yours," Souji explained. "I know you don't like fish."

Yosuke directed his partner a smoldering look. He just couldn't help it. "Mannnn..." he breathed. "You're something else."

Souji coughed to hide his embarrassment and looked away, then nudged Yosuke meaningfully with his foot under the table. Dojima-san was busy eating and hadn't noticed the exchange, but Nanako-chan was looking at Yosuke as if he was some puzzle to solve from the quiz show. Yosuke hastily turned back to the soup and started eating.

"Nanako," Dojima said after they'd finished breakfast. "Why don't I take you to school today?"

The girl's eyes widened. "You mean... in the car?"

Dojima nodded. "Yeah. Come on, get your things." Nanako-chan squealed and headed to her room to collect her backpack. Dojima turned to Souji and Yosuke. "You two will have to manage on your own."

Souji nodded.

When Nanako-chan returned, backpack in tow, Souji gave her a hug and told her to have a fun day at school.

She turned to Yosuke and opened her arms for a hug from him too. He awkwardly gave her one, entirely aware of Dojima's stern gaze on him. Dojima maybe wasn't disapproving of him, but it was hard to tell...

Souji watched father and daughter leave the house together with an odd look on his face.

"What's up?" Yosuke asked him.

Souji shook his head. "I'm just happy... It's unusual for my uncle to take Nanako-chan to school like that. He'll be late for work."

"Well, he came home late last night. Maybe that'll make up for it?" Yosuke suggested.

Souji just Mmm'd at him and cleaned up the dishes.

When Souji was done, Yosuke stood up from the table and rubbed the back of his head. "Hey, uh, partner?"

Souji blinked at him. "Yes?"

"Remember last night? Uh, I mean..."

Souji nodded. "Thanks for helping with the model. I'd be working on it for the next three nights if I did it on my own."

"That's not what I... Uhh..." The faintly curious, faintly puzzled look Souji had on finally allowed Yosuke to blurt it out. "You can touch me."

"What, now?" Souji asked, surprise clear on his face.

"Y-yeah." Yosuke stood tensely, waiting for Souji to make the next move.

Souji shook his head. "Not now. We're in our school uniforms, and we still have to go to school today."

"Oh," Yosuke said, strangely disappointed. He'd been too afraid last night, but now he was willing to face it, and...

"But maybe," Souji whispered. He moved around the table until he was behind Yosuke, and then pressed up against his back, chin on his shoulder, and wrapped a hand around his waist, fingers splayed on his stomach. "Maybe just a little bit?" Souji's breath warmed Yosuke's neck. And after his shower, Souji smelled great, even if it was probably Junes-brand soap...

"P-partner," Yosuke stammered. How did Souji know so intimately what to do to make him fall to pieces?

Souji laughed and pulled away. "We need to get to school."

* * *

Yosuke spent most of the walk to school complaining about the snow and the cold until he realized his words were falling on deaf ears. His partner was mostly lost in thought as they trudged through a thick drift on the sidewalk. He'd thought Souji could at least agree with him that the cold sucked, but instead he'd been rather noncommittal about it the whole time.

"Don't tell me you like the cold," Yosuke complained. "It's way colder out here than in the city. Like, in the city, all the buildings block the wind, and here we get the wind over the river and that makes it extra freezing."

"It's not that I like the cold," Souji finally spoke up, "but..."

"You're gonna say 'it's better than summer heat,' aren't you? I wouldn't compare the two extremes—they're both awful!" Yosuke kicked at a pile of snow and was rewarded with very wet shoes. "Urgh!"

"But if it hadn't snowed," Souji continued, "you wouldn't have stayed over, so..."

Yosuke covered his face with his hand. "C-come on, partner! We're getting too close to school to say things like that."

"The snow is good for some things..."

"Y-yeah, that's right!" Yosuke declared, desperate to redirect the topic before anyone overheard Souji and wanted to investigate. "We're gonna have a ski trip! And, and," – he looked at Souji – "We can help Nanako-chan make another snowman!"

He was rewarded with a smile from Souji that could almost melt snow on its own. "'We,' huh?"

"Yeah, why not?" said Yosuke. "I haven't made a snowman since I was a kid. You made a Teddie snowman last time, right? We should make a snow bunny, since Nanako-chan likes bunnies."

"Yeah, she does." Souji's face had a dreamy look.

Yosuke grinned, mostly to himself. His partner was so easy to please...

* * *

"Hey, uh, partner," Yosuke said between classes, "got an extra notebook? My Geology notebook is at home." Since he'd stayed at Souji's, he only had his notebooks for yesterday's classes, which didn't include today's science class.

Souji nodded and handed him a notebook out of his book bag.

"Thanks, partner," Yosuke said with feeling. "You're a lifesaver."

Souji nibbled the end of his pen to mask how happy he was to hear that. Yosuke, flipping through the notebook, didn't notice.

The notebook had been used before; the notes inside seemed to be for an art class, but not many pages were filled up. Souji wasn't in an art class—his elective was music, probably to go with his band practice. Yosuke forgot what instrument he played. Something brass, right? Pretty cool, but not as cool as, say, a guitar.

This was probably an older, unimportant notebook that Souji intended to cannibalize when one of his other notebooks filled up. Yosuke could tell it hadn't been used in a while because Souji hadn't drawn any hearts in it. Yeah, Souji's recent "I'm bored in class" activity was to draw hearts all over his class notes, much to Yosuke's acute embarrassment. The girls had hassled Souji before about it, and would probably do so again. Well, since this particular notebook was clean, at least Yosuke wouldn't have the girls bothering _him_ about it.

Class started, and, predictably, it wasn't long before Yosuke was bored. He shouldn't have bothered with borrowing the notebook, really... he wasn't going to take many notes. Continental drift of the Philippines tectonic plate was approximately 6 cm a year while the Pacific plate was 8 cm... who cared? Souji encouraged him to apply himself just a little more in class, but it was just so hard to stay focused when the subject hardly seemed relevant.

Yosuke tapped his pen against the desk, thinking. There was no helping it.

He began to draw on a free page in the notebook. Just a rough, sketchy outline of what he intended at first, and drawn very lightly—he didn't want to get caught in the act. He tried to inconspicuously glance at the boy who sat next to him to make sure he wasn't watching. Nah, he was a studious enough kid, totally absorbed in the lecture—or maybe his own thoughts, he looked a little spacey.

"Write this down," the teacher said. "It'll be on the exam for sure!"

Yosuke scowled and scribbled the term—"supercontinent"—and its definition for later. What, were they trying to make Geology class interesting by putting 'super' in front of its terminology? If so, it wasn't working.

And then he went right back to his art piece. By the end of class, he had it finished, and, after tearing out his class notes, he carefully folded back the page with the drawing on it so that Souji would notice it later, then handed the notebook back to him. "Thanks, partner."

Souji looked at the proffered notebook, but didn't accept it. "Oh. You can keep it."

Yosuke waved the pages he'd torn out. "I already got my notes... Ah, I gotta get to work." He pushed the notebook into Souji's hands. "I'll talk to you later!"

Souji blinked down at the notebook, and Yosuke didn't wait for him to open it, assuming he would...

* * *

Working sucked. Yosuke didn't manage to get home until well after dark, and then he had to deal with an overly excited Teddie telling him all about whatever he'd been watching on television before he could finally pull off his clothes—Souji's clothes—and get a shower. And then when he went to get a snack he ran into his mom, who wanted to tell him all about her day and then complain about something the neighbor had done—he wasn't really listening at this point. And then when he brought the snack to his room, he'd made the mistake of setting it on his desk while he got a drink, and came back to find only an empty wrapper because Teddie'd taken it and... And then his dad came home and wanted to talk about Junes's sales numbers for the pharmaceutical department, which somehow led into him making Yosuke work again tomorrow even though it was supposed to be his day off...

He wished he was staying at Souji's again.

After he'd finally bundled Teddie off to bed in the guest room, he thought of calling Souji and complaining at least about his work schedule, but it was way too late. During the murder case, he never really cared when he called, but now... He didn't want to wake Souji up. Not now, not when he knew how early the guy got up, and how tired he had been last night...

* * *

Yosuke found Souji at the shoe lockers a couple of days later. "Hey, uh, partner, think we could hang out after school today?" he asked.

"Hmm..." For a moment, Yosuke worried that Souji would take his planner out and check if he had room for him, but then Souji nodded. "Of course."

Yosuke grinned at him and almost said, 'It's a date,' before he caught himself. "Let's meet on the roof, yeah?"

Souji nodded and smiled back, and Yosuke scuttled off to class before it got too awkward or he started blushing or something.

* * *

After school, Yosuke waited outside the classroom for Souji. Chie had started hassling his partner about the hearts again, and Yosuke really didn't want to be around for that. He might slip up and give it all away, so he was going to let Souji handle it.

A few minutes later, he watched Chie and Yukiko leave down the hall together—but then he saw Rise coming up from the first floor, and he groaned internally. But it was too late, she'd seen him. "Yosuke-senpai~ Is Senpai in? We're supposed to go out today."

"Oh... is that so..." Yosuke said, trying to keep his voice level. Wait, Souji had a date with _Rise_ today...?

"Yeah!" Rise confirmed animatedly. "We're going to have so much fun. We're going shopping at Okina, and then we'll see a movie, and _maybe_ we'll have dinner at a really nice restaurant over there... Senpai is such a gentleman, you know." She smiled mischievously as she opened the door to classroom 2-2. "See you around!"

Yosuke's mind shut down. He'd never imagined Rise would be competition. But knowing her, it'd be hard for Souji to renege on his promise to spend the afternoon with her, especially since it'd probably been planned several days ahead. Who could refuse _Risette?_

...Would Souji text him to tell him the date was off?

Not wanting to think about it, he went to the roof on his own and put his headphones on and played some music. Back in December, he'd mostly listened to heavy metal, in keeping with his mood—they'd been chasing after the murderer then, so he'd needed music to get his blood pumping. Now, he listened to lighter tunes, but it was difficult to decide what he wanted to listen to today. He wasn't exactly feeling bright and cheerful—just anxious—and he didn't have any music that really fit with that. He put the playlist on shuffle mode and skipped the first three songs that played, settling on the fourth.

He scooted to the chain-link fence and rested his back against it, eyes closed. Damn, it was cold today, even with the sun peeking through the scattered clouds. The roof hadn't been a good idea. It was just... where they always went.

A thought came to him. What if Souji came up here with Rise? Oh, that would be awful... Well, she said they were going to Okina, so probably not.

Haha, speaking of the devil, the song that played next was a Risette piece. The song was about a girl who liked a guy but didn't want to appear flirty so she just watched him go out with other girls. Art didn't imitate life, in this case.

...He skipped that song, too.

He had to work again tomorrow, which was why he'd wanted to hang out today. They still had plenty of time, but the calendar was ticking down days and he knew it'd be over before he knew it. Their relationship was still so fresh and new. They were keeping it from the others while he, Yosuke, figured it out, which was hard when he had to share Souji with everyone else. At this rate, his partner would be gone before he figured it out, and then it'd... just be a damned tragedy, that's what it would be.

Bleh, another annoying song. He'd put a lot of stuff on the player that he only marginally liked so that he wouldn't get tired of his favorites, and this was one. Maybe he should skip it too. Hmm, well, it just got to the chorus, and he liked that part, at least...

He stretched back and ran his fingers against the chain-links, then regretted it. The metal was cold. He rubbed his fingers together to warm them, then sighed and closed his eyes again.

"Yosuke?"

Startled, he scraped the back of his head against the fence. "Dammit, partner!" he swore. "Don't sneak up on me like that!"

Souji was looking at him, amusement plain on his face. "Are you all right?"

Yosuke rubbed where he hit his head. "Yeah..." He pulled off his headphones and paused the music. He dearly wanted to ask about Rise, but... he'd only been on the roof maybe ten minutes, so Souji had definitely given her the boot. How had he managed that? Were things going to be okay between Souji and Rise? Yosuke felt a guilty thrill that he was more important to Souji than she was.

Souji stepped closer, but he looked unsure of himself. "Can I still touch you?"

Yosuke reached out and took his hand and pulled him down next to him. "_Yes._" He couldn't have Souji skipping out on Rise and then keep him away... But then he realized where they were. "Uh, actually, let's move away from the fence, just in case..." It wasn't likely that they'd be seen in this weather, but Inaba was known for its overly curious inhabitants. Someone might spot them and then wonder who exactly was sitting so close together and...

They relocated to the center of the roof, and Souji held onto his arm and ran his hand along his jacket's sleeve. "You're cold," Souji said. "Maybe we should go somewhere else."

"Yeah, but... I want the privacy. Anywhere else outside would be just as cold."

"We could go to my place again," Souji suggested.

Yosuke shook his head. "I'd rather not cross your uncle's path so soon."

Souji rested his head against Yosuke's shoulder. "All right."

Yosuke waited for Souji to talk, but his partner seemed content just to sit there, holding his arm. Yosuke scratched his head with his free hand. "Oh, by the way, you won't be getting your clothes back anytime soon, partner."

Souji swiveled his head to look at him, and Yosuke assumed he was trying to raise an eyebrow, but it was hidden by his bangs. Yosuke took out his phone, pressed a few keys, then showed him the screen.

It was a picture of human Teddie wearing a Yasogami school uniform that appeared to be at least a couple of sizes too big for him. The blond-haired boy didn't seem to mind that, though—he seemed ecstatic in it. He was standing in a pose that looked a lot like Souji's battle stance, in fact...

"Yeah," said Yosuke. "Made the mistake of telling him it was your uniform. 'Teddie-sensei is roaring to go!' or something... Sorry."

"Does he have my underwear, too? I noticed I was missing a set."

"I don't know!" Yosuke replied too quickly. _Smooth, Yosuke, smooth._ Not that he was planning to keep Souji's boxers or anything, he wasn't a creep...

Souji chuckled, but didn't comment.

A silence elapsed, but it wasn't exactly uncomfortable. He was alone with Souji, a rare enough feat in itself these days.

He'd been thinking a lot about Souji lately, for obvious reasons, and... he'd never really had a chance to ask any of the important questions. They'd been best friends for almost a year, and Souji was still kind of a mystery. Yosuke knew he was easy to please—just talk about his cousin or give him a Topsicle and he was happy—but there was so much he didn't know, even little things...

Sure, he could enjoy the silence, but he was Yosuke, and silence was nice to visit but didn't come naturally to him. So maybe this could be an opportunity to give voice to at least some of these questions.

"What makes you happy, partner?" Yosuke asked.

"You," was Souji's instant reply.

Yosuke rubbed his temple, trying to distract himself so that he wouldn't blush. "I mean, more in general..."

Souji frowned. "Nanako-chan?" he ventured.

"No, no." Yosuke shook his head and clarified. "I mean, _what_ makes you happy, not _who_."

Souji didn't think about it for very long. "Being your boyfriend makes me happy." He nodded like it was his final answer, no more consideration needed.

"Ugh," said Yosuke. "That sounds so queer... boyfriend..."

"But I am," Souji said plaintively.

"What, queer?"

"_Your boyfriend._"

"I—I know..."

Souji remained quiet, and Yosuke was sure he'd soon say, "It's okay, I understand," or something equally frustrating that would make him feel guilty. But Souji said nothing, apparently still content with the silence. Yeah, Yosuke had killed the convo almost as bad as Naoto tended to.

So he had to break the silence. "Partner... You ever kissed a girl?" Whoa, where had _that_ come from, and why was he asking it?

Souji stirred, and the look on his face was somewhat strained. "Yeah..."

No, Yosuke knew exactly where his question had come from. Souji's interest in him was something he still hadn't come to terms with, even though they'd been hugging and touching and sometimes even kissing for the past few weeks. Yesterday had been the first time they actually made out... And Yosuke had decided he'd liked it, in the end, but it had taken probably too long for him to come to that decision.

It was driving him crazy, because he _did_ like it when Souji touched him and kissed him, but a part of him wanted to push him away, the same part that kept making him beat up on Kanji whenever he saw the chance. Even now, Souji leaning against him and holding his arm—no, holding his hand, Souji had found his hand again—if Yosuke was a good boyfriend he'd be leaning into him too and touching him back, not leaving his hand limp in Souji's like a dead fish. It was frustrating for him, and it was probably a hell of a lot more frustrating for Souji. Patient, sweet, adorable Souji...

Yosuke just didn't get it. He liked Souji, that much was true, but when he contemplated what it meant, he blanked out. He didn't want to get caught up on feelings, because that was... that was queer, but that's what he kept thinking about, trying to understand something that seemed like it was inherently impossible to understandable.

And, and, another part of him just couldn't believe that Souji chose him over the dozens of beautiful girls fawning over him. He couldn't understand it at all. And Yosuke was taking so long to figure it all out, what if Souji got tired of waiting and gave up on him or...

Yosuke had too many insecurities to handle, and so he had to know more about Souji, discover how he worked, or at least how he'd handled the same problems himself. He'd been confused, too, right? Probably not, it was Souji, he knew everything... but there was still a chance...

...All this led him to ask his next question without really thinking about it.

"You ever... do _more_ than kiss a girl?"

Souji swallowed. "Yeah..."

Yosuke's inhaled sharply, eyes wide. He hadn't expected him to answer, let alone answer positively. But... of course, this was _Souji._ He would've been able to reach third base with a girl easily, hell he'd probably gone all the way home... Hadn't Souji been hanging out with Ai Ebihara a lot a few months ago? Some of the guys at school said pretty awful things about her integrity...

A soft pat on his hand brought him back to reality. He looked at Souji's face to find his partner smiling mischievously at him. "Yeah. I hugged a girl, too," he said.

Yosuke batted his hand away. "Dammit, partner, you really had me going!"

"Yeah? And you?"

"Nah, never anything more than kissing," Yosuke said with a sigh. "With tongue, though!" he amended proudly.

Souji shook his head with a faint smile.

"Hey," said Yosuke in a more subdued voice. "I actually had a girlfriend back in the city. The move kind of broke us up. It was just a middle school romance, so, you know. Nothing serious. And, well, you can imagine I never had any luck here in Inaba." No one wanted to go out with 'Junes boy' even though at least he had a steady job... "Until, well, you, I guess."

"Until me," Souji echoed. He snuggled up affectionately next to Yosuke.

"You've had luck in Inaba," Yosuke commented. That thought about Ebihara was bothering him, now.

"Lucky with you," Souji said.

"You lay it on thick, don't you?" Yosuke said, probably turning crimson, the color aided by the cold.

Souji was silent for a pensive moment. "...Does it bother you?"

"No! It's just... really weird to hear. I just... Sometimes it's hard for me to believe you like me. I mean, all those girls like you..." he hinted. Maybe he could get Souji to admit he didn't like girls. It only made sense, no one could resist _every_ girl in Inaba... But Souji had given him that 'sliding scale' speech... where exactly on the scale was Souji, anyway?

"I'd better save up some money for White Day," Souji said with a sigh. "But believe it, Yosuke. I really," – Souji took Yosuke's hand and held it in front of his mouth – "like you." He kissed the back of Yosuke's hand.

_Oh Gawwwwwd._ When he did stuff like that, it was so hard not to just _melt_ in front of him and—and Souji was smiling so sincerely at him, those gray eyes trained on his, wanting him to react. "Y-yeah, I get it." Yosuke tried to ignore it all—especially how warm Souji's lips were—because dammit he wanted an answer. "Bu-but aren't you interested in any of the girls?"

"Yosuke," Souji breathed. He tapped his fingers lightly on the back of Yosuke's hand. "I'm interested in you. You're my boyfriend." Souji narrowed his eyes at him, scrutinizing. "I'm not interested in any of the girls, if that's what you want to hear. I thought that would be obvious."

Yosuke shrugged. "Well, you know, the rumor mill." But he was happy to finally hear it, obvipous or not. Souji hung out with the different girls often. Anyone would be suspicious...

Well, that was enough for now; he was pretty satisfied with what he'd learned. Now he could just enjoy the date. He thought of what Rise had said. Man, Souji's original plan with Rise sounded more like a date than this... hanging out on a cold school roof. Yosuke needed to take Souji out somewhere nice. Yeah, he could be a good boyfriend.

Yeah, he could do this. Screw his fear, screw that part of him that wanted to run. _Souji liked him._ Not Kou or Naoki or that guy with glasses or any of his endless fangirls. Him.

Yosuke pulled his arm away from Souji, but not to get away—to wrap it around Souji's back and bring him closer. Souji seemed surprised—and that was wrong, he shouldn't be surprised. Yosuke kissed him on the cheek. "You're my boyfriend," Yosuke told him softly. There, it wasn't that hard to say, was it? And Souji _blushed,_ oh, that had been so worth it.

"Mmm," Souji agreed. He angled his head to brush his lips against Yosuke's mouth, but then he drew back. "Your lips are cold."

"Yours are, uh... warm," Yosuke finished lamely. He began to lick his lips to try and warm them, but Souji moved in to take care of it himself. As the kiss deepened, he felt Souji's hand at the back of his head, steadying him. His other hand gripped the front of his jacket.

The dopey look on Souji's face when he pulled away to breathe made Yosuke giddy. _His boyfriend._ Oh, and his breath was so warm, too...

Souji tried to rest his head against Yosuke's chest like last time, but Yosuke gently pulled his head up onto his shoulder instead; the lack of a backrest made it difficult to support too much weight. Last time, they had been on a couch, and last time, Yosuke hadn't known what to do with his hands. This time, he trailed his fingers down Souji's back with one hand, and tousled his silver hair with the other.

Before he registered what he was doing, his hand on Souji's back had wandered past the boy's shirt and down to his pants. With heat radiating off of his face in embarrassment, Yosuke slipped his fingers into Souji's back pocket, only to find it was occupied by paper.

Though he knew it was going to kill the moment, he was curious, so he pulled it out and unfolded it.

It was the drawing he'd made the other day on Souji's old notes.

It was something silly... a sketch of a bunny with headphones—Yosuke—and a bunny with bowl-cut hair—Souji—and a smaller bunny with ribbons on its ears—Nanako-chan. A half-built snowman was drawn beside them. Yosuke had written the word "Sunday?" next to it, to ask if he could come over this weekend.

Souji lifted his head and peered at the sketch. "Oh. I was going to show that to Nanako-chan."

"Don't," Yosuke pleaded. "It's embarrassing."

"She'll think it's cute. It _is_ cute."

"Yeah, but... She might get the wrong idea."

"You think so...? All right... But yeah, Sunday's good." Souji rubbed his nose against Yosuke's cheek and whispered in his ear. "Please come over."

"Yeah... It's a date!" Yosuke announced with a maniacal grin.

A date... Maybe Yosuke could take him out to dinner or something, repay him for all the free meals... and be the boyfriend his partner deserved.


	2. Chapter 2

[AN: Bonus chapter! Souji's view on some of the day's events.]

Souji nibbled the end of his pen. He was thinking of the boy behind him, of course. Yosuke wanted to hang out this afternoon. Souji was glad he asked—he'd been somewhat concerned that Yosuke hadn't called him since their little sleepover at his uncle's place, but Yosuke had been working the last two days, so probably he had just been too tired.

The sleepover... Yosuke hadn't returned the clothes he'd borrowed yet, but it didn't really matter; Souji'd had a spare set. Speaking of spare clothing, Souji hadn't yet washed the pajamas Yosuke had borrowed that night. In fact, Souji had worn them himself last night.

Souji blushed and bit harder on the pen until the plastic cracked under the pressure. That would be the third pen this week...

He really needed to stop daydreaming about his boyfriend in class. If he kept it up, he wouldn't be the one to make the top score on the final exam. But maybe Yukiko could be allowed to retake her former spot...

With a quiet sigh, he began to doodle in his notebook.

* * *

The dismissal bell rang, and Souji folded over his notebook only to find that he was closing it onto a rather feminine hand.

Chie's forefinger flicked the paper back and the notebook flipped open again. "Aha!" she said triumphantly. She grabbed the notebook before Souji could react and showed it to Yukiko. "Yep, he's still drawing them."

Yukiko peered at the page. "I have a red pen, if you'd like, Souji-kun..."

Souji did his best to mask his guilt at getting caught. Again.

He should've stopped doing it after the first time the girls had noticed, but he couldn't help himself. He needed an outlet for his pent up emotions, and it had seemed harmless enough. It wasn't like he was cutting himself or something—he was just drawing hearts.

The first heart had just been a whim. Ms. Sofue had asked Yosuke a question in class, and Souji had provided him the answer, and as he sat back down, Yosuke had whispered, "Thanks, partner," and Souji had been so happy... So he'd drawn the heart in response.

And then he'd started thinking about why that had made him happy, and one heart hadn't seemed to be enough, so he'd drawn more and...

It might be an obsession now. He'd even expanded into adding stars and moons and little whirls in between the hearts.

But when his mind wandered in class and he started thinking of the boy sitting behind him—like now—he had to distract himself somehow or else it would get _really embarrassing._

It would have been just fine, too, if the girls hadn't noticed.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Yosuke sneak out of the classroom's back door. He was effectively leaving the conversation before he had a chance to be drawn into it. Souji sorely wished he could follow.

"Chie," Souji chided without raising his voice. "If you wanted to see my artwork, you could have asked."

The short-haired girl had the decency to look embarrassed before scrambling to hand him back the notebook. "Sorry, Souji-kun! But you've got us all curious..."

Yukiko blinked. "What are we curious about?"

"Yukiko!" Chie scolded. "The hearts I just showed you?"

"...Yes?"

Well, at least one of the girls didn't see a problem with it...

Chie sighed. "Souji-kun..."

"I'm just happy," he told her. "Ayane liked the lunch I made today, and my uncle is—"

"_So it's Ayane-chan?_" Chie interjected excitedly.

He opened his mouth to answer, but Yukiko held out a red pen to him. "You should add some color to them," she said.

He ignored the raven-haired girl for the moment, Chie's comment taking priority. "I make lunch for everyone, you know," he said. "In fact, tomorrow is Yukiko's day."

Chie's eyes widened, and she stared at her best friend, who was still happily holding out the red pen. Souji took the pen from her at that moment. "Thank you, Yukiko," he said with feeling. "Speaking of lunch, would you like curry or yakisoba tomorrow?"

"Curry," Yukiko replied promptly. "But... I could make it for you, instead."

"My treat," Souji countered quickly.

Chie laughed nervously, and tugged on her best friend's red jacket sleeve. "C-come on, now I'm hungry for a beef bowl... haha."

As the two girls left the classroom, Souji allowed himself a satisfied smile. He'd survived _that_ ordeal with no one the wiser.

Now for the next one. Any minute now...

He bent to put his notebook in his book bag, heard the classroom door reopen, glanced up to see Rise walk in, stepping confidently and exuberantly towards him...

He'd been dreading this encounter all day, ever since Yosuke had asked him this morning to hang with him after school. A day with Rise had been on Souji's schedule for over a week. She'd been waiting patiently—well, impatiently—to hang out with her dear senpai the whole time.

And now he had to cancel on her.

He opened his planner before she reached him and made a show of peering over it. Rise's name was marked in black ink on today's date. No hearts were present there.

Hmm, when was he next free to spend a day with the idol? He might have to reschedule someone else to make room for her... He could skip band practice next week, maybe. It wasn't like he planned to play the trumpet professionally, and he'd just had lunch with Ayane, so he could put her off for a while. She needed some time to practice the trombone on her own, anyway.

"Senpaiiii," Rise squealed and tugged on his arm, red fingernails scratching lightly at his jacket sleeve. "Let's get going~"

Souji remained steadfastly in his seat. "I'm sorry, Rise. Something came up. I can't go to Okina with you today."

She was so devastated that she was speechless.

"Uhh, how about next Tuesday?" he suggested, hovering Yukiko's red ink pen over a square marked "band."

"Senpai... You promised!" Rise cried.

She was pouting. Souji frowned slightly. He hadn't actually _promised_ anything. Plans to meet up were just plans. Not promises.

He thought hard on how to make it up to her. "I'll cook for you next time," he offered. "Anything you want."

Rise eyed him, sizing him up. "Oh, really... Then how about sushi... _at your place?_"

The emphasis she put at the end left no question as to what she intended: to be alone with him at his house.

"Rise," he said.

The way she was staring intently at his face made him positive that she was trying to will him into it with as much willpower as she could muster. Thankfully Himiko's telepathic powers didn't work outside the TV World.

It was really uncomfortable to be on the receiving end of a one-sided crush.

"Not at my place," he told her. He imagined it snowing that day, and having to invite her to stay overnight like Yosuke. No, just no.

"Senpai," she said. Her hand tightened its grip on his sleeve.

"But sushi, I can do that." He could even catch some fresh fish for it at the river. It'd be a nice test of both his fishing and cooking skills. "If the weather's nice, how about the picnic area at the flood plain?"

"All right," she said sullenly. "But..."

"Okay. So that's... Tuesday." He crossed out 'band' and wrote 'Rise – sushi' with the red ink pen.

"But Senpai," she said as he made to stand. "What's happening today? Why can't we go out?"

A thousand excuses flitted through his head, but he knew better than to lie. If she caught him in a lie, it'd be quite a blow to their friendship, and he still valued that. "Something just came up," he said with a practiced grimace. "It can't wait. Just... Tuesday, okay? I'll make it worth it."

"Of course you will, Senpai~" she said with a giggle.

He excused himself and left the classroom. He headed to the nearest bathroom, where he waited until he'd seen Rise pass by to leave the school. The last thing he needed was for her to follow him to the roof.

Heading to the roof, he popped a raspberry fruit chew in his mouth...

There was Yosuke, with eyes closed and his back and head resting against the roof's perimeter fence, looking... looking like the music he was listening to wasn't doing anything for him.

Souji called his name softly, but, with his headphones on, Yosuke didn't hear, so he called louder and Yosuke jumped, banging his head against the fence.

Souji couldn't keep the smile from his face. He'd felt bad for skipping out on Rise, but an afternoon with his boyfriend was going to be worth it.


End file.
